Chapter 33

“Cut it out.”

Gyu-yeon, who gently flicked Naru’s forehead without hurting him, picked up his chopsticks. When he told him to stop looking at his phone and just eat, Naru nodded vigorously.

At the mention of “lover,” he didn’t get angry, and he didn’t deliberately take it and change the profile text. Naru misunderstood Gyu-yeon’s actions. He thought Gyu-yeon wasn’t scolding him because he liked him. Or perhaps it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

Finishing his meal with a grin, Naru fell back into his phone trance. Seo-yeon’s SNS had many photos worth watching. From dessert Cafe photos to selfies, scrolling down made time fly.

Naru suddenly wanted to upload a photo himself. So while Gyu-yeon went to wash up, he opened the camera app. The rabbit filter he’d used earlier popped up and twinkled above Naru’s head.

Click.

Mimicking Seo-yeon’s pose, Naru took a photo and looked at it with satisfaction. Maybe because of the filter, his eyes sparkled more than usual and his cheeks were pink. Naru decided to upload the photo with the puppy-ear filter to SNS.

Because I’m a puppy, I’ll post a puppy.

Proudly uploading his selfie to SNS, Naru smiled. A tiny heart under the photo showed the number 1. Curious, he tapped it and Seo-yeon’s account appeared in the list.

If someone hit the heart, that means they liked my photo, right? As expected, it turned out well.

“You’re on your phone again. Get ready properly.”

“Mm-hm.”

Just then Gyu-yeon came out of the bathroom and nagged Naru. He didn’t seem to like that he was constantly staring at his phone. Naru answered vaguely and tapped the screen. He seemed to pay no attention to his words.

Half resigned, Gyu-yeon went into the room and lay down first. Usually, if he closed the door first, Naru would run over chattering about whether he was already asleep, but today the doorway was strangely quiet. It was all because of that phone.

He used to listen well at first, but lately he’s been terribly disobedient.

Just as Gyu-yeon thought, Naru hadn’t been listening these days. He used to obediently do as told, but now he acted stubbornly no matter what he said.

Of course, there was no reason Naru had to do as Gyu-yeon said. He wasn’t a well-trained pet, he was a person. Even knowing that, Gyu-yeon felt a bit hurt. Maybe this was how a parent felt watching a kid hit puberty.

Lying on the bed with his phone, Gyu-yeon opened SNS and checked Naru’s account. The profile still said “Gyu-yeon’s lover.” And there was one visible post.

“What the—this.”

A post that hadn’t been there earlier had appeared. Gyu-yeon tapped the photo without hesitation. Naru’s first post was his selfie. A selfie with the puppy filter. Where he’d copied that angle from, he didn’t know, but the photo came out quite well.

“Huh, really.”

Gyu-yeon feigned a scoffing laugh and then gave a genuinely warm smile. The round eyes, the pink cheeks, the adorably decorated puppy ears and tail were all cute.

Wow, why am I laughing? Am I laughing because I think he’s cute? What the hell.

Gyu-yeon quickly erased the smile and controlled his expression. Lately, every time he saw Naru he kept thinking he was cute, and that was a problem. He was even afraid he might like him more.

Just go to sleep.

Vibrate.

Just as Gyu-yeon was about to put his phone down to sleep early, it vibrated. Feeling it was odd, he pressed the hold button again, checked the message on the screen, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

[Gyu-yeon, can I sleep in your room with you?]

It was Naru’s message. He who had once ignored him because he was looking at his phone now wanted to come sleep in his room. Gyu-yeon immediately sent a reply.

[No.]

That was the “no” answer. Then, within a second, a reply came from Naru.

[O]

A one-letter reply. Yes, a one-letter reply. Gyu-yeon had never received such an answer in his life. He was used to heartfelt messages; no one had ever answered so bluntly. Just a single “O.”

It was so absurd he burst out laughing. Naru, who had sent the curt reply, was now pacing in front of Gyu-yeon’s door. He’d wondered why he hadn’t come earlier—now he finally was.

Gyu-yeon ignored Naru and shut his eyes. Often he’d just turn back and fall asleep on the sofa, so he didn’t plan to pay it any mind. But today was different.

Click.

The door opened. After hesitating for a while, Naru stepped into Gyu-yeon’s room. He naturally burrowed under the blanket and boldly claimed the spot beside him.

“What is it?”

“I’m curious about something.”

“I’m not moving from here.”

“People hit hearts on your photos a lot, but they don’t hit on mine. Why?”

Ignoring Gyu-yeon’s remark, Naru went on with what he wanted to say. He seemed genuinely curious why people only hearted Gyu-yeon’s photos and not his. Gyu-yeon made a disgusted face at the absurd question.

“I’m the youngest son of YK Electronics, and you’re a rich kid nobody knows.”

“You’re insulting me with that.”

“Who knows.”

“I just got one heart too. I’m popular too.”

Naru proudly held out his phone. Indeed, the hearts had increased to two in no time. Gyu-yeon snatched the phone and checked the heart list and the post comments.

[ilili_ill liked your post.]

It was someone he didn’t know. He suspected it might be Do-min’s account, but the profile picture looked like a woman. The young-looking woman had hearted Naru’s post and even left a comment.

[Oh my, you look cute ㅠㅠㅠ Are you a trainee??]

The woman, who left an overly flattering comment at first meeting, seemed to think Naru was a trainee of some agency. Thrilled by the first comment, Naru gushed, asking if he could reply.

“I can reply to this comment too? Right?”

“No, you can’t.”

Gyu-yeon switched Naru’s account to private. He realized he was doing this on impulse. Making it so no one could comment and locking the account puzzled Naru, who openly tilted his head.

“What’s this? A lock appeared.”

“I locked your account so only a few people can see it.”

Gyu-yeon answered Naru’s question nonchalantly. The point was, his tone was shamelessly confident.

“Why? I want to get close to other people.”

“This is cooler, normally.”

“You’re hiding it so nobody can see it, because it’s mine, Gyu-yeon?”

There it was again. The bulldozer way of speaking.

Naru snuggled closer and asked. Sometimes such frankness could make a person blush. Gyu-yeon tried to dodge the answer and pushed Naru away.

Naru didn’t give ground easily. When Gyu-yeon pushed, he bulldozed right back and desperately held him spot beside him.

Gyu-yeon on the bed smells like Gyu-yeon. Cozy and cool and it smells nice. The best!

“Hey, aren’t you going to move over?”

“Nope, not moving.”

“I said move.”

“I said I’m not moving. Fuck.”

“How many times have I told you not to say that swear word, ugh!”

Naru ultimately caused a scene. The one who was told not to swear boldly grabbed Gyu-yeon’s cheek and planted a kiss on him. He pulled back with an embarrassed “smooch” and giggled. His usually innocent-looking face looked oddly sly today.

As if possessed, Gyu-yeon grabbed the back of Naru’s head and pulled him closer. He should have scolded him for what he’d just done, but instinct overrode reason. Closing the distance with a rough hand, he tilted his head slightly. If their lips touched again now, it would be deeper and more intense than before.

Thump. Thump.

When the distance between them was less than a centimeter, Gyu-yeon snapped back to reality. Naru, right in front of him, batted his long lashes and blinked his pretty eyes.

“Aren’t you going to do more?”

“…Crazy.”

“Gyu-yeon?”

“I’m sleeping, so don’t touch me.”

Gyu-yeon turned over and lay down. The precarious pink tension shattered. But Naru wasn’t too disappointed. He was happy that Gyu-yeon had opened up this much, and just the thought of how close they’d been made his heart pound.

Clinging to Gyu-yeon’s back, Naru closed his eyes to the rhythm of his breathing like a lullaby. Gyu-yeon, who’d said he was going to sleep, was silently quiet as if he’d actually fallen asleep. Naru, unable to sleep from his pounding heart, turned over across his body to the other side.

He really was asleep.

From this side, he could see Gyu-yeon’s face well. His straight brows, closed eyes, lips. A perfectly handsome face.

Naru’s hands touched both of Gyu-yeon’s cheeks. Pinching his cheeks until his lips puckered like a fish’s, he pressed his lips to his a couple of times in a kiss.

Smooch, smooch, smooch!

It was bold skinship to do secretly to someone asleep. And he kissed so passionately the embarrassing sounds echoed through the room.

Satisfied alone, Naru kissed Gyu-yeon’s cheek once more and then pulled away. As a result, the one pretending to sleep, Gyu-yeon, was put in an awkward spot. He couldn’t get up and scold him.

With Buddha-like patience, Gyu-yeon endured opening his eyes and exhaled as if sighing. Naru, who’d been kissing him vigorously, was squirming into Gyu-yeon’s embrace. No matter how many times he thought about it, it was ridiculous.

He wondered if he’d been behaving like this the whole time he was asleep.

Lost in such thoughts, Gyu-yeon gave in as if surrendering his whole body. Even if he hadn’t intended to give in, Naru would have conquered him.

“Sleep well, Gyu-yeon.”

Hugging Gyu-yeon’s waist tightly, Naru wished him good sleep. Was he saying that knowing he was awake? Or was it a thoughtless greeting? It was puzzling.

Song Naru, this mischievous kid. You’re turning my insides upside down.

Awakened by Naru’s actions, Gyu-yeon couldn’t sleep for hours. Conversely, Naru slept soundly in his arms. He slept so comfortably he even talked in his sleep.

Gyu-yeon, once again unintentionally outwitted by Naru’s tricks, held his forehead. He was afraid that if this continued, he’d give away his heart completely and be led around by Naru.

After much pondering, Gyu-yeon fell asleep before he knew it. Two breathing sounds overlapped on the quiet bed.

“Gyu-yeon is good at pretending to sleep.”

Pretending to talk in his sleep as an act, Naru slowly opened his eyes. He had expected to be kicked out of the room at any moment, but felt relieved that Gyu-yeon didn’t move.

Naru could now be sure of one thing.

That Gyu-yeon liked him.

Naru hugged Gyu-yeon’s waist tighter and buried his face in his chest. Thrilled at the thought that he had finally won Gyu-yeon’s heart, he let out a soft giggle. Rubbing his head against him as a sign of affection, Naru fell asleep in less than five minutes.